Friday, 16 January 2015

The Nevado Chachani Peru

The Nevado Chachani is the highest of the mountains near the city of Arequipa in southern Peru. Due to low precipitation in the area, the Chachani does not have permanent ice cap or glaciers. Therefore; climbing this mountain is extremely popular and several tourist agencies offers guidance trips to the summit. However the altitude is considered challenging for those folks who are not fully acclimatized. Most of the climbers take northern side route. As the trek is at a top off point and can reached in two and half hours by four wheel drive vehicle driving west around Chachani and turning off from the main highway near Pampas Cañahuas, or heading north from Arequipa between Misti and Chachani. The average total climb time from base camp ranges from six to nine hours, with a two-to four-hour descent.

Moreover base camp is at approximately 5,200 metres and there is another higher camp often called “Camp Azulfrera” located at about 5,400 metres. The route begins with the ascent to the Angel Col before traversing the El Angel Mountain itself. At that point climbers ascend the face of Fatima Mountain in a Zig-Zag pattern before making another traverse on the Fatima Mountain. Thus only then can the summit of Mount Chachani be seen. From there, climbers need to make the final ascent on the face of Chachani all the way to the top of the mountain.

Although standard route needs crampons and an ice axe, but does not need roping up, as there’re no large crevasses on Chachani. Two traverses over relatively steep terrain constitute the foremost challenges on the way to the summit. The final push to the summit is a very steep scree slope, which runs for a fast descent back to the first traverse. In the recent years, the amount of snow on Chachani has reduced radically, so for several months of the year there may be slight snow on the mountain in October and November 2010, there was no snow at all, and the ascent could be made without crampons or ice axes. Climbers must to check on the snow conditions beforehand.